Volleyball: Mansfield Repeats As 3A Champion

RUSSELLVILLE — It was going to take a supreme effort for underdog Paris to knock off defending champion Mansfield in the finals of the 3A State Volleyball Tournament on Saturday.

In a rematch of last year’s finals, Paris came up with that kind of effort, but Mansfield (33-3) answered the challenge for the four-set victory and second straight state crown after dropping its first set of the postseason, 26-24, to a Paris team that was on fire.

“I think it just woke us up,” Mansfield senior Kaylie Pyles said. “Paris came out and played great in that first set and that made us get mad and play our best.”

Mansfield answered the challenge with a dominating 25-12 win in the second set to even the match. The Lady Tigers won the third in a close one, 25-22, and then cruised home with the win in the fourth set.

Pyles was named MVP and led the Lady Tigers in kills with 13. Pyles dominated at the key times despite turning her ankle while warming up for Saturday’s match.

“I was scared because I thought I wasn’t going to play,” Pyles said. “But after they wrapped it up it felt better and I was ready to go. It felt better once I got out there and started playing.”

“I was pretty worried about it, too,” Mansfield coach April Howell said. “We were looking at having to sub her in the lineup up until right before the match. Our other outside hitter (Erin Reano) turned her ankle in practice yesterday and she was hurting, too.

“They both just got out there and played through it.”

Seniors Pyles, Reano and Mallory Ward led the attacking as they had all year. Senior Erica McKay had 14 assists and senior libero Symber Weaver made four big aces serves. Juniors Andi Cumbie, Samatha Stipins and Sierra Grady all contributed at key times.

“Something we always try to stress is teamwork,” Howell said. “We spread it around a lot and everybody makes plays. That pays off when you get in a match like this.”

Mitchell and Peevy were dominating in the first set for the Lady Eagles (19-8).

“We came out fired-up in that first set and played our best,” Paris coach Wes Davis said. “Then in the second set we started making some mistakes. You can’t do that against Mansfield, they are too good. They make you pay for your mistakes.”

Mansfield was the favorite to repeat as state champion from the minute the the Lady Tigers walked off the court last season, which didn’t necessarily make it easy. Howell took over after being an assistant to Brent Reeves on last year’s team.

“I felt a lot of pressure, for sure,” Howell said. “I felt like I was stepping into some big shoes. I just tried to remember the things coach Reeves taught me and apply them to this year. He was always talking about teamwork.

“These girls had a lot of pressure on them, too, but they did a great job of staying focused and kept working and getting better.”

Pyles said the pressure by Paris helped Mansfield refocus.

“Otherwise we might have just sat back and let things happen,” he said. “But we didn’t want to lose.”